The coach is very happy, especially considering the quality of their rivals
He recognises the luxury of having big difference-makers that are in top form
Bartomeu thanks the fans
FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu thanked the 60,005 spectators who came to the stadium “on such a cold night.” He said that “the players have again demonstrated that they have ambition and are very focused this year.” He also thinks that the Cup tie against Villarreal “will be spectacular and probably decided in the return leg.”
[[DES_1]]Barça overcame one of the toughest obstacles to visit Camp Nou this season. Villarreal made things really tough for Barça, but Luis Enrique’s squad came back twice to win. This resilience really impressed the coach. “Our reactions indicate that the team can overcome any situation,” he said. He also acknowledged that when it was 3–2 they wanted “to continue attacking to close out the game.” “We didn’t let up,” he added.
Barça fell behind twice, but had the will to win. “Except the first 10 minutes after their first goal, we were good,” said Luis Enrique. They were up against their next rival in the Spanish Cup, and that is why the coach had warned his players: “For anyone who thinks that we have reached the Cup final, we have a very tough tie ahead of us.”[[CITA_1]]
The attacking trio formed by Suárez, Neymar and Messi showed up once again. Suárez created lots of danger and the Neymar and Messi scored two of Barça’s three goals. “For us it is a pleasure to have such great playmakers,” Luis Enrique admitted. About Suárez, he said “he is very close to scoring a lot of goals, and he will. Suárez brings many important things to the team,” he added.
In the press room, the name of the day was Leo Messi. The Argentine has scored in eight consecutive games at Camp Nou, and is in top form. “He’s so strong that he has the freedom to move around on attack,” said Luis Enrique. He added: “The more Messi touches the ball, the better.”